Little Voice
by Mystical Light
Summary: In the Parallel World, things are not going quite as well as the Doctor might've hoped they would. Will they find their way? Ten.5/Rose - Post JE Please R&R Discontinued - sorry
1. Love Song

Disclaimer: I am not doing this for any monetary gain. I do not own Doctor Who nor the music of the wonderful Sara Bareilles.

Based on the music of Sara Bareilles, this is about the road it takes for Rose and Ten.5 to accept each other.

* * *

Chapter 1: Love Song

_I'm not going to write you a love song,  
'cause you asked for it  
'cause you need one you see._

Rose gently tapped her foot against his ankle and the brown haired stranger looked up at the one who distracted him from his musings.

"Mum says we have to get going."

Her hands were in her pockets, the first thing he noticed above all else.

"Right," he said, getting up to his feet and dusting the leftover sand off his blue suit, "well then let's go."

Jackie Tyler led the way into a nearby town that she mispronounced but he didn't try to correct her. "Zepplin'll take us back in the morning so we'll 'ave to spend the night. Is that fine with you two?"

"Yeah," he said while Rose murmured a quiet, "Whatever." Jackie handed each of them a key to two separate rooms. Rose grabbed one and disappeared to the nearby staircase, walking up.

"You'll be alright Love?" Jackie asked sounding unsure.

"I can take care of myself," he said attempting (and failing) to give her a proper smile.

Jackie realized his distress and instead of calling him out on it gave him a gentle squeeze of the arm and left him to go upstairs herself. Unsure of what he should do next, the brown haired stranger looked around the hotel lobby and noticed a book case over to his left. After asking in proper Norwegian if it's alright for him to borrow a few for a little while, he grabbed some books and made his own way upstairs to his bedroom. Once he reached the fourth floor and began his walk down the hall, a door slammed shut and he realized it was the one across the hall from his own. His was Room 412 and hers was obviously 411.

Maneuvering the books under one arm, he opened the door and went inside locking it behind him before tossing the books onto his small, twin-sized bed. He picks up one to examine it when there's a knock on the door. He answers and it was Jackie with Rose who was pointedly looking in any other direction but at him.

"We were going for a bite and wondered if you wanted to come with?"

Oh, Jackie. Bless her! "Nah 'm a bit tired. I'm just going to stay in."

Rose snorted in derision and he tried his hardest to ignore it. It seemed to work.

"Tell you what," Jackie says, again touching his arm, "we'll bring you back something."

"Thanks," he says and closes the door and again locking it. Sighing and taking a deep, calming breath, he fell back to the bed and began his search. A name, a name... What's in a name?

The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.

A name pronounced is the recognition of the individual to whom it belongs.

Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me.

The books he brought back were all classics: Shakespeare, Austen, Twain, Dickens. One of them had to have a name that was just right. A new life, a fresh start. With or without her...

Words. So many different, beautiful words. Of course all of them were currently in Norwegian but who was he to argue?

However, with his eyelids beginning to droop, the brown haired stranger leaned back on his stiff pillow and tried to read but instead fell asleep just minutes later.

**

* * *

**"I don't want to hear it Mum!"

"Well Rose you're going to hear it. Stop walking."

All Jackie said was one little sentence and suddenly the shouting match that erupted caused them to be escorted out of the cafe. They arrived back at the hotel and Rose ran for the staircase and disappeared leaving her disappointed mother behind. She looked down at the small white take away bag clutched in her hand and shook her head.

Jackie decided to turn in for the night but before doing so thought it best to check in on the Doctor (which she still considered him to be) just to make sure he was fine. Plus she needed to drop off his supper anyway in case he was getting hungry. She had kept the extra key to his room and after knocking and getting no response went inside.

There he lay, fast asleep on top of a pile of books. He looked almost peaceful.

She left the white bag on the cupboard next to his bed before gently removing the trainers from his feet. He turned over and lay facing the wall with his arms wrapped around himself and his legs together. Going to the closet, Jackie removed an extra blanket and laid it on top of him so he wouldn't get cold. She turned off the light and gave him a gentle kiss on the top of his head before leaving him to his necessary and well deserved shut-eye.

**

* * *

**Groaning, he turned over and moved to take away something sharp and square from under him. Blearily he saw something resembling a book before he took a deep breath and stretched. The room he was in was completely dark and silent.

What was going on? Where was the - It all came back to him and his spirits dropped.

Parallel world, Norway, abandoned, searching for a name.

He made to throw a book against the wall but stopped himself at the last second. Didn't want to wake the neighbours. The bedside clock read a little after three o'clock so he'd been asleep apparently for the last nine hours.

"Bloody human physiology."

After rubbing his eyes and forcing himself to stay away, the brown haired stranger continued his search for that elusive proper name.

**

* * *

**"Doctor? Doct-"

"Mum, quit it!"

Rolling her eyes, Jackie knocked on his door again only once before it was thrown open and the man in question stood with the sandwich from the night before held in his left hand and an annoyed look that evaporated into a blank stare.

"Zepplin'll be here in about an hour dear," she explained, "so get together anything you want to bring with you, all right?"

He swallowed (a move decidedly not due to the sandwich since there were no bite marks in it) and while looking Rose straight in the eye said "All right," and shut the door in their faces.

"Mum, you have to stop calling him that," Rose said, grabbing her mother's sleeve and dragging her to the stairs.

"Calling 'im what?" Jackie asked, freeing herself.

Rose rolled her eyes and put her hands to her forehead. "The Doctor - he's not him."

"Yes 'e is."

"No he's not. The Doctor abandoned us here. Again."

"He might've abandoned you Rose. Or, he might have given you the one thing you really needed."

Rose didn't answer her and instead walked out the lobby door and continued walking away.

_He needs you. That's very me._

The first time she could almost understand why he couldn't come back. And so she decided to try any means necessary to find her way back on her own. A part of her still hoped at the time that when (not if) she did find him again he'd take her traveling again.

The dimension cannon practically fell into her lap at that point. The amount of hours it took. Testing first on rocks, then rodents before volunteering to be the first human to travel through (or back).

She can hear someone (him) running up behind her and ignored it with every fiber of her being. After a few seconds, the person slowed down. They're still there mind, just waiting for her to be the first to acknowledge it. As her pace suddenly increased, theirs (his) followed. Rose finally stopped and turned around.

There it was, that face. He looked so confused and dare she say lost?

"Jackie told me to come find you. Said we're going off soon," he says quietly, almost whispering.

"Right."

Rose walks past him daring not to look back as she hears his footsteps again following her from behind. Stopping again suddenly, Rose turns and he walks into her knocking both of them to the ground. He stood first and reached down a hand for her to grab which she slowly accepted.

"You alright Rose?"

"'m fine. We'd better get going."

She chanced a look into those intense brown eyes (so young yet so old at the same time) and left him no choice to but follow behind.


	2. Vegas

Disclaimer: I am not doing this for any monetary gain. I do not own Doctor Who nor the music of the wonderful Sara Bareilles.

Thank you for reading the first chapter. Here's the next. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 2: Vegas

_It's always just around the corner or you're  
on your way to somewhere  
That is bigger or better...  
If you could only get there  
It's never your fault you can't start your  
own winning streak  
But I'd hate to lose you to the fortune you seek..._

He knew then and there after the ship had been in the air for two hours that he and zeppelins were going to be having a very, very bad relationship with each other in this world. He supposed that this feeling in his stomach was what he heard to be 'nausea' and he didn't like it at all.

"Doctor, you're turning green; is there anything I can do for you?"

"No Jackie, I'm sure I'll be fine in a mo'-"

The zeppelin shuddered slightly and he held onto the armrest as tight as possible until his knuckles started to turn white. For a slow moving vehicle, it still felt like it was going far too fast. Must've gotten caught up in an upwind or something.

His head was spinning; definitely not good. Why couldn't this world have airplanes like the true universe? He could definitely deal with them…

Suddenly, he felt someone lay a hand on top of his own and he peeked open his eye to see Rose's hand on his. Instantly, his body relaxed. As the zeppelin began to calm down though Rose's hand was gone and didn't come back for the rest of their time onboard. Thankfully for the rest of the flight the ship remained in the air and he managed to keep his breakfast down.

They arrived in London after only a few short hours and for the very first time in his life he was glad to be on solid ground. He remained completely calm but only by not moving a muscle until the vehicle was safely stopped. Wordlessly he unbuckled his safety-belt and exited the craft.

"Tony! Pete!"

Jackie ran forward from behind them to her husband and after giving him a kiss, quickly reached down to grab the small boy standing next to him and wrap her arms around him. This was obviously Tony Tyler, Jackie and Pete's son and Rose's half-brother. He was a good mixture of both his parents but looked to have more Pete than Jackie in him. Rose gave both of the men a kiss as well. Maybe he might be able to use Tony to get on Rose's good side…

"All right everyone," Pete announced, "come on; out to the van."

Tony tried to ask who the strange man was and where Uncle Mickey went but everyone ignored him. Jackie promised to explain it to him later.

Pete turned to look at the brown haired stranger who in turn eyed the floor, intent on learning its every crevice and streak of dirt on the linoleum. He felt a hand grasp his arm. He didn't need to look up to see that it was Pete himself and not the one he secretly wished for. Jackie looked back once before pulling Tony, leading him to the other end of the building. Rose was already far ahead of everyone else and on the other side, checking her phone for messages.

Looking into Pete's eyes, for once he wasn't sure what to say. Pete filled in their awkward silence all on his own with his simple questioning of, "Doctor...?"

"Yeah," he said, scratching a non-existent itch behind his left ear, "not quite actually. It's a long story."

"Jackie filled me in on most of it last night. But, Rose though...I thought she'd be happier."

"I thought so too," the brown haired stranger said, giving Pete a half of a smile.

Pete guided the way outside and led the entire family to the car park so they could get home before Tony needed to get tucked in for the night.

**

* * *

**After a light meal and once Tony was asleep in bed, Rose announced that she called a cab to bring her to her apartment in the city that night. She didn't even mention bringing _him_ with her and honestly he didn't really expect her to either. This was just something she needed to work through on her own and he wasn't going to stand in her way.

At least, that's what he was still telling himself until she was gone.

"Doctor-" Pete began to say once she left before being interrupted.

"I, that's not my name. Not anymore," the stranger said, just barely making eye contact before looking down at his hands, still trying to figure out himself who _he_ was.

"Right. Anyway, after I spoke with Jackie last night I called in a few favors and got some paperwork sent over for you to fill out. Come on."

Pete stood and the brown haired stranger followed suit as Jackie disappeared down the hallway looking both upset and tired at the same time.

"If you're going to be staying in this world," Pete said over his shoulder, stopping at a closed door and reaching into his pocket for a key so he could unlock it, "you're going to need an identity. And you and I are going to sit here until everything is all set up for you."

The two men walked into Pete's home office complete with rich red painted walls, shelves upon shelves of books, fancy leather covered seats and a large mahogany desk complete with two desktop computers sitting side by side. There were hanging pictures of the whole family on the walls too, even a portrait done in oil paint.

"Take a seat," Pete said, sitting behind the desk and pointing to the chair across from him.

After sitting, Pete opened a drawer and removed a large stack of various papers of different sizes with tiny words printed on them. Pete then handed him a pen, shoved the papers towards him and the entire night was spent creating a whole life which was in reality nothing more than a piece of fiction; a novelization.

Jackie came into the office a little after dawn in her robe and holding a cup of tea in her hand but Pete told her they would still be a few more minutes. The brown haired stranger yawned as his body reminded him, yet again, that sleep, while mostly useless, was still a necessity to a human life.

Pete began speaking again once Jackie had left. "There's just one more thing I wanted to ask you before we can set you out into the world and I'm really hoping you'll accept."

Pete turned on the computer to his left and the other man stood to watch over his shoulder.

"This is where I keep all my information on what Torchwood is working on. I track agents here," he said, bringing up a map of London that had many small red dots scattered, "case files, satellite feed, whereabouts of current known extraterrestrial life-forms…."

"Oh Pete Tyler you've been busy since I last saw you," the other said barely suppressing a grin.

"As of today," Pete said mostly ignoring him but smirking anyway, "we have seven different main branches of Torchwood on each continent with many sub-groups around the world. Yet with so many people, things often get neglected-"

"Like the Cybermen escaping?"

"Exactly. I need someone with a penchant for travel; one who has knowledge of other life-forms who can report back to the main office what they find and how it can be used for the betterment of mankind."

Pete looked at him and he looked back. "Interested?"

**

* * *

**Jackie met the two men outside of the office and immediately forced the man who wasn't her husband up the stairs and into the main bathroom.

"Your room's three doors down on the left. There's a fresh set of clothes waiting for you so I can wash that ungodly thing you've been wearing for two days straight," Jackie called through the closed door. "Don't come out till you're not so fresh!"

"Yes Mum," he whispered.

"Oh, I definitely heard that!"

Walking slowly towards the shower, he stopped and began to slowly remove his clothes one by one until he was standing in the center of the room completely nude. Over the marble sink was a mirror but he completely ignored it and walked into the stand-up shower. He turned on the hot water and stood in front of the jets allowing the water to pelt him like tiny burning pinpricks of pain against his skin before finally turning the knob for the cold.

Everything was all set, he thought to himself while lathering shampoo in his hair. He had an identity, an apartment, a job...It was time, time to finally find his own way in the world and he hoped to all that was in the universe that everything would turn out right in the end.

He wasn't running this time. This time, he was finally free.

And he stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel to dry himself off with and thought about the new life he was about to begin.


	3. Bottle It Up

Disclaimer: I am not doing this for monetary gain. I do not own Doctor Who nor the music of the wonderful Sara Bareilles.

* * *

Chapter 3: Bottle It Up

_Started as a flicker meant to be a flame_  
_Skin has gotten thicker but it burns the same_  
_Still a baby in a cradle got to take my first fall_  
_Baby's getting next to nowhere with her back against the wall_

Several Weeks Later -

He never contacted her after the night she left and Rose felt she needed to be as far away from him as possible. For now. Rose tried to the best ofmove on (again). Some days though, between cases, she'd just sit in her private office, phone in hand and just itching to dial. But that led to not knowing his whereabouts and that feeling which she absolutely hated most. The empty feeling at the pit of her stomach of having everything taken away…

A hand was suddenly waving in her peripheral vision."Rose? Rose you there? Hello?"

"Sorry, Damien," she said looking at her date staring at her from across the table.

Damien Rohmer was one of the members of her team and also the last one anyone would've figured Rose would've accepted a date with. He was one of the fighters, so to speak, whose job it was to make sure that if the other side shot first then there would be no mercy. Her team's motto wasn't "One Chance" for nothing.

"Are you enjoying your steak?" he asked, "I can cook it for a bit longer if you want?"

"No, its fine," she said basically faking a smile and cutting into the meat before taking a big bite.

**

* * *

**_"Rose...Rose... You'll miss it." _

_"Coming." Rose stepped out of the doors of the TARDIS while putting on her nicest, warmest jacket. "Doctor? Doctor where'd you go?" _

_She turned around in a circle, searching for him, but he wasn't there. _

_"Up the hill. Come on." His voice echoed ominously._

_Rose looked down at her feet and then up before she realized that she was standing on a grassy knoll, on some planet, with an impossibly tall mountain, taller than quite possibly Mount Kilimanjaro, looming just ahead of her. Raising her head, she looked to its peak and squinted to see a shadow looking down at her from above. _

_"How'd you get all the way up there?" she shouted while trying her best to keep the sun's light out of her eyes. _

_"Started, oh, must've been ages ago now. Come on then Rose; allons-y or you'll miss all the fun!" _

_"What fun?" Rose asked, taking a step forward followed by another and then another. _

_After several more minutes of just moving one foot in front of the other, Rose came to the sad and strange conclusion that she wasn't even moving at all but staying in the same place the entire time! _

_"Doctor, Doctor I think something's wrong." _

_"Allons-y Rose!" _

_"Doctor!" _

_"Rose." _

_"Doctor!" _

_Rose looked up and instead of seeing only one object, there were now two similar shadows standing at the top of the mountain. At the same time and in the tone of voice the two men said, "You can only have one Rose. Pick." _

_"What?" _

_A sound reached her ears and seemed to wrap itself around her and refused to let go. It started gently before becoming increasingly louder. _

_THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP. _

_It echoed loudly in throughout the empty plane, like a bell ringing high in a tower…._

Rose jumped up from Damien's arms and turned to stare at him before quietly exiting the bed, grabbing her clothes, and leaving the man's bedroom while he was still asleep. Upon shutting the door, she leaned her back against the hard wood and fell to a crouch, clutching her black pants and sweater. She quickly dressed and ran outside so she could catch a cab that would return her to her own home.

After taking the lift to the top floor, she exited and, after looking down both ends of the corridor went into her home and locked the door behind her. Rose turned on the hall light before putting her keys into her key bowl and walked into the kitchen.

She put a kettle of water on the stove and went to her answering machine where the little light was blinking rapidly. She pushed it and her mother's soothing voice filled the room:

_"Rose? Oh, you're never home anymore! Tony's been asking about you - think you can care enough to visit for supper tomorrow night? Don't worry; you know who won't be here if that's what you're so worried about. Kisses."_

Sighing, Rose walked back into her tiny kitchen. After putting a teabag into a mug and then pouring the hot water, she walked into the loo and began to run a bath. She added too much lavender scented bubble bath to calm her nerves. Rose undressed again and stepped in with her mug still in hand. Leaning back, Rose contemplated what happened (or rather not) in the past few months.

One thing she did know was that she'd have to end things with Damien, and soon, before he thought she'd want more out of this "relationship". He was honestly a nice bloke...just not what she wanted. Maybe she should just try celibacy for awhile; she did it before for four years pretty well...

Rose reached out of the tub and placed the mug gently on the tile floor before dunking her head completely below the water and resurfacing a second later. Running her hands through her slick hair, Rose decided that, when push comes to shove, there was only one person she could go to when there was a problem she needed solving.

**

* * *

**"Well look at what the cat dragged in. I was expecting you three weeks ago."

"Nice to see you too Mum," Rose said shutting the door behind her.

Jackie began to walk away and Rose followed after. "Haven't heard from you in ages," Jackie said, "not since -"

"Still don't want to talk about it," Rose said, raising a hand. "Where's Tony; isn't he usually attached to your ankle about now?"

"He's on the phone, talking with Andrew."

Figuring that Andrew was some local boy he had playtime with, Rose let it slide and asked something else. "And _him_?"

"Who him?" Jackie asked over her shoulder.

"King of Spain; who do you think I meant?"

"Oi Missy, I can do without the sarcasm."

Jackie walked into the kitchen and prepared to make a cup of tea for both of them while Rose rummaged in the cupboards for a box of biscuits.

"To answer your question though, he's working in the States."

"Really?"

"What, you didn't know?'e's doing something for Pete over there and -"

Rose raised an eyebrow at this revelation. "He's working for Torchwood?" she then asked.

Jackie sighed. "It's refreshing knowing more than you for once."

Rose just shook her head as Tony came running inside and towards their mother. "Tony, you know no running in the house!"

"Mum, Mum," he said, totally ignoring his sister, "Andrew said he's bringing me something 'wizard' when he comes back in a few weeks. What's 'wizard' mean?"

"Tony, didn't you see who's here?" Jackie asked, gesturing just behind him.

The boy turned and Rose waved awkwardly. "Hey Tone."

"Rosie, you came back," he said, running up to her and giving her the biggest hug he could possibly give his favorite sister.

"Course I came back," she said while smiling.

"Tony, your sister and I were talking. How about you go and play with your trucks and we'll come get you before Rose leaves?"

"Okay, see you later Rosie."

"See ya Tone," she said, ruffling his hair.

"He's getting bigger every day," Jackie said, shaking her head fondly.

"Yeah," Rose said.

Jackie finished with the tea and the two women sat at the table quietly drinking for a few minutes before Rose finally decided to speak. "So he's in the States you said?"

"Pete offered him a job and he took it. Get a direct call every so often though they've been a bit less frequent lately. Tony loves hearing from him though."

Rose casually grabbed a chocolate chip biscuit off the plate before asking, "And is he...seeing anyone?"

"Why?" Jackie asked, suspiciously.

"Just wonderin' how he's adapting to being human is all."

"Well you could always ask him yourself."

"Yeah, I suppose I could, but-"

"But what Rose? No, forget it, I'm not telling you a thing. You hurt that poor man!"

"Part-alien," Rose murmured.

"Yeah but he's still mostly human though. Where it counts."

"So you're really not going to tell me anything, your only daughter?"

Jackie put down her cup and looked away, "I told you everything you needed."

"Then I'm just going to say bye to Tony and be off."

Rose was halfway to the door before Jackie spoke, "You're making a big mistake Rose."

"I know Mum, I know."

Rose walked out and knew she had to make things right somehow but unfortunately fences here can't be mended with a bit of jiggery-pokery from a sonic.


	4. One Sweet Love

Disclaimer: I am not doing this for any monetary gain. I do not own Doctor Who nor the music of the wonderful Sara Bareilles.

* * *

Chapter 4: One Sweet Love

________________________________________________________

__

Savor the sorrow to soften the pain sip on  
the southern rain  
As I do, I don't look don't touch don't do anything  
but hope that there is a you

"Earth to Rose Tyler... Come in Rose Tyler…"

________________________________________________________

____

"Wha'?" Rose asked, forgetting where she was, before remembering a second later as she stared at her assistant, standing in her office doorway.

"Rose, you have a meeting with the International Leaders of Torchwood in five minutes and I'm getting phone calls from your team asking me where you are. And here you are, asleep in your office like you don't even have a proper bed in your flat!"

Molly Hanson, former university intern turned assistant. Curly red hair, green suits and always making sure Rose was at her best – bless her!

"Sorry, Molls, I'll be right up. And tell the others not to get so worked up - it's only a meeting with my Father and a couple of other blokes about funding," Rose said, sitting up in her seat and adjusting the collar of her blazer.

"Yeah, but you're trying to get an awful lot of money for that new project," Molly said, ending in a sort of sing-song sort of way. "That cannon thingy. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes right now. And those are some lovely shoes by the way. New?"

"Thanks, they're Jimmy Choo." Rose stood and did a quick twirl in place. "How do I look?"

Molly walked up to Rose and adjusted the jacket and brushed a piece of lint off of it. "I think you might just get it. Good luck."

"Thanks," Rose said, beaming her 1000 watt smile.

She gave Molly a quick hug and ran for the lift which opened the minute she pressed the 'up' button. Rose gave Molly a quick thumbs up as the doors swished closed. In the blink of an eye, Rose reached the top floor. Her whole team was at the doors, waiting for her to come out. Christine and Damien and tall-Robert. Even not-so-tall-Robert showed up on time for once. This was turning out to be her day, she just knew it!

"Come on Rose," Damien said, grabbing Rose's arm and pulling her out, "the International's are here and we have to get started posthaste."

The team walked up to the door which opened when they were close enough and it then closed behind them with a loud 'bang'. A spotlight appeared above Rose's head and she squinted around the dark room trying to see where it was coming from. Why wasn't the light on?

"Rose?" a familiar voice asked.

Rose squinted through the light and her father appeared, flanked by two men on either side of him, and she stared at all three of them in shock.

"Something wrong Miss?" the man on Pete's left side asked, leaning forward slightly so they were at better eye level. He stared at her with his wide, mournful blue eyes; eyes that still haunted her to this day. Rose took him in entirely; remembering like it was only yesterday: short, cropped dark hair, green jumper, dark pants, leather jacket, northern accent.

"Ah, she's probably fine," the other man, the one to Pete's right, "right?"

Rose still couldn't speak! Gorgeous brown hair, adorable freckles, pinstriped, brown suit. "How can you two-?"

"Rose, this is John Smith and John Smith," Pete said nodding to each man as he said their names.

"Pete, it can't be -?"

"Can't be what?" Pete asked, walking forward to her and taking Rose's hand. He pushed her in front of the two men and disappeared behind her.

"Nice to meet you," her first Doctor said extending his hand.

"Hello," the other Doctor said, wiggling his fingers to her in greeting and extending his own hand as well.

"This…can't be real," Rose said, closing her eyes and bringing her hand to her forehead, "it just can't be."

When she opened her eyes again, she was suddenly standing on some sort of theatrical stage with the spotlight again on her and the two Doctors sat at the far end of a table with their legs propped up and their arms behind their heads.

Rose looked down at the notes she had on a podium and began to speak. "Guess I should begin. What we have invented here at Torchwood London is a device that could -"

"Speak up Rose, can't hear you," her first Doctor said, pushing his ears forward to emphasize the fact.

"And with those ears, that's definitely saying something," her second Doctor said looking at the other man who glared back at him.

"Sorry," Rose murmured. She coughed into her fist and continued. "Anyway, the device so far, during a strenuous battery of tests, is able to transport objects literally through the void (that's the dead space between worlds) and to another universe. With proper funding we believe that eventually it could be possible to send animals and human beings to other universes as well, as well as finding a source to the lights disappearing in the sky."

"Yeah but that doesn't seem very safe though?" her second Doctor asked. He scratched behind his left ear as he waited for a response.

"I'm sorry?" Rose asked. She looked around the room but unfortunately there was no one else save the three of them. Where had Pete and her team disappeared to?

"Safety," her second Doctor said, standing up, putting his hands in his pockets, and walking towards her while continuing to talk. "Simple question really. There's any number of things that can go wrong with an object like that. Especially in the wrong hands. Based on previous experience, I don't really think Torchwood can handle an object of that caliber. What about you Smith?" he asked, turning to the other Doctor who was suddenly holding a banana in his right hand.

"I think you might be right Smith," her first Doctor said as he stood up pointing the tip of the banana at the other man. "Therefore, I think we have no choice but to deny you. Sorry. Well, not really."

"Wha'?" Rose exclaimed.

"Sorry," her first Doctor said, "i's just a bit too much for a pack of apes like you lot to handle."

"Yeah," her second Doctor said, drawing out the word, "all of reality could be caput if an object like that is created."

"But…it would be fascinating for exploratory purposes. The first of our kind, to study other worlds."

"Or maybe just a way for you to get into ours? Hmm?" her second Doctor said.

Rose blinked. "...That's beside the point."

"Oh, sorry Rose can't allow something like that to exist. You're beyond us now."

_Moving as one, both men stood back to back and held up their sonic screwdrivers and pointed them in her direction. Rose screamed._

Rose woke up in a cold sweat and held her head in her hands for several minutes afterwards. That was the third time this week that a dream about her two Doctors haunted her. Every time it was something different but always had the same ending: reminding her that she couldn't go back.

Looking to her left, at her bedside clock, it read 2:20 A.M. and Rose sighed. She got up out of her sheets and left the room. Rose splashed some cold water on her face, just to calm her nerves, before going back to her bed to lie down.

____________________________________________

________

This time, rather than being in a grassy knoll, Rose was in a meadow full of flowers. All around her, the same noise as her first dream assaulted her ears. THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP.

"Rose?" She turned and her second Doctor stood in the center.

She began to run towards him.

He raised his arms to her.

"Doctor," she whispered when she finally reached him…

______

Her mobile phone began to ring, waking Rose up a little over an hour after she fell back to sleep. Blearily she reached for it and answered. "'lo?"

"Rose, its Pete. I need to see you in my office in twenty minutes. It's urgent."


	5. Come Round Soon

Disclaimer: I am not doing this for any monetary gain. I do not own Doctor Who nor the music of the wonderful Sara Bareilles.

* * *

Chapter 5: Come Round Soon

_All your stormy words have barely broken  
And you sound like thunder though  
you've barely spoken  
Oh, it looks like rain tonight and thank God  
'Cause a clear sky just wouldn't feel right._

When Peter Tyler personally called an agent in for a mission, no one wanted to keep him waiting. Rose felt wide awake as she quickly changed out of her night clothes and into a comfortable tee-shirt and jeans combo with matching trainers and jacket. She caught the nearest cab she could and told them to take her to Vitex Headquarters. All of London didn't need to know that deep within the walls of an honest, health-drink organization like Vitex lays the command center of London's top alien investigation conglomerate. Rose thanked the driver as she exited the vehicle and ran up the steps, leading to the front entrance. The greeting secretary wasn't there at this time of night (obviously) and it made Rose feel like she was breaking in rather than being invited.

Taking the lift up, Rose hummed along with the background music subconsciously before catching herself and stopping. She really needed to have a talk with Pete about piping in better music. The doors swished open and Rose walked purposefully to the CEO's giant doors and pushed them open. Pete was sitting in his chair, with his back facing her, while on his ear buds having a heated conversation with someone who seemed to be very important.

"Well, as soon as you _do_ hear from them, I want a full briefing on their status. Got it? Good. No, I'm just waiting for-" Pete shifted his seat and finally noticed that Rose was standing in the doorway. She awkwardly waved and stepped forward an inch before stopping, allowing him time to finish.

"She's here. I'll ring you back."

"I hate those things," Rose said as she walked up to Pete's desk as he removed the buds.

"I'm not as fond of them as I used to be myself," Pete said with a heavy sigh, "but Government's been insisting..." He motioned to the chair across from him and she took her seat.

"We don't really have to get into that right now," Rose said, crossing her legs and sitting straight and tall. "What's going on," she then asked, "because I was in the middle of this really fantastic dream and..."

"Down to business then," Pete said returning to his seat. He grabbed a red file from his top drawer and put on his glasses while opening the folder. "Right then; Case File 1788J-2. Rose, I'm sending you out on an exceptionally crucial mission."

"Me?" she asked, shocked, "but what about a freelancer? What about Sanders or Peters? I've got an entire team to watch over. I can't just..."

"Your team will be fine in your absence. Now, pay attention because I'm only going to tell you this once and then you are on your own."

Pete moved the mouse of the computer around and clicked on the recorder program, tested it a few times, before beginning to speak again. "This is CEO Peter Tyler speaking privately with Special Agent Rose Marion Tyler on October the 3rd, 2k10 at 4 o'clock in the morning, GMT. Now, Agent Tyler, I have had two agents working deep undercover, across the ocean, in the US. A few months back, an unidentified vessel was spotted and reported to Torchwood, New York Headquarters. They've been identified as beings from the planet MP-6072. We've since then learned that it's fairly far outside of our solar system and the beings from the planet call it 'Eternus Crepusculum' or, in modern English, that's 'Eternal Twilight' in case you were wondering."

Rose was intrigued. "And what sort of beings come from this 'Eternus Crepusculm'?"

"That's the thing," Pete said biting back a grin, "they look completely human." He leaned back in his seat, holding his hands together across his stomach.

"Completely human?" Rose questioned.

"Completely human."

"No long necks or, say, green hair?" Rose asked while leaning forward. Rose absolutely loved moments of banter such as this; it felt as though she _had_ been living with this Pete for all her life and that he completely understood her.

"100 percent like you or I."

Rose nodded. "All right then, continue."

"Our two agents were working on completely infiltrating their society. Learn whatever they can by any means possible. They were supposed to report on the situation five days ago but we've still had no contact. I know it might be a bit early to jump the gun but..."

"You want to send me along to check up on them?"

"Not exactly. Now, I've contacted two other agents in the area already and they're going to pick up the case file from where our other two left off. Their names are Bennet and Stone and in a few hours you are going to be meeting up with them and work on the case as a new team."

"Where am I meeting these agents?"

"They're both men first of all, and you'll be meeting them at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. You're taking the 'Company Zeppelin' there and it'll be leaving from the rooftop in, oh," Pete said, looking to his watch, "five minutes."

"Five minutes? What about telling Mum?"

"Oh, you can call her on the way. You can't tell her about any of this case, of course, because then we'd have to have her taken care of and you don't want that."

"Not funny Pete," Rose said, standing up.

"No, of course not," he said, walking around the desk to give his daughter a hug.

Rose hugged him back. Pete handed her the file and she went out the office door walking to the lift again. On the ride up she gave the file a quick glance before pulling out her mobile and dialing Pete's number.

"Vitex Industries, Peter-"

"Dad, you left out one big piece of information," Rose said, looking through the file again and seeing nothing she was looking for. "How am I supposed to know who Bennet and Stone are?"

"They have your number on file; they'll contact you after you arrive."

"Doesn't that sound a bit…off?"

"Good luck." He hung up on her and Rose stared at the phone for several minutes before finally stepping outside and boarding the waiting "zeppelin".

**

* * *

**_Clouds appeared in the sky above the meadow and a fierce wind buffeted Rose, forcing her back from the man she loved. _

_"Doctor!" _

_She could see him call out but a boom of thunder hid his voice. _

_"Doctor!" she tried again, hopeful._

"Ms. Tyler? Ms. Tyler, would you care for a beverage or light snack?"

Rose sniffled and woke up from her second deep sleep of the day. It took her a minute to remember that she wasn't, in fact, in her nice, warm bed but sitting in a very uncomfortable leather chair that smelled of pipe tobacco. The only wonderful thing about the "company zeppelin" was that it wasn't actually a zeppelin at all, but a privately funded, luxurious jetliner that Pete commissioned to be built using leftover, but safe, alien technology a little over a year ago. Thank goodness they used perception filters off a Martian air cruiser otherwise Torchwood (and Vitex) would have a lot of explaining to do.

"What was that? No, no thank you," she said, adjusting her position in the chair in order to be more comfortable. "How much longer will it be?"

"Another two hours I'm afraid," the attendant, Yvonne said before walking into the main cabin and shutting the door behind her.

Two more hours. Right now though, instead of thinking about jets and falling back to sleep, Rose really needed to heavily study those necessary case files so that maybe she might able to catch some sleep after arriving.

**

* * *

**Rose took a taxi from the Air-Station to the hotel and her body felt like it was about to collapse from fatigue at any second.

After thanking the driver and paying him, she looked up and up further to see the Waldorf in its entirety. The name of the hotel was written in shimmering gold lettering and an angel statue watched over the entrance.

Rose dragged the suitcase Pete provided for her over the threshold and into the main lobby. If she thought the outside was gorgeous, it was nothing to its interior. She did her best impression of an heiress as she went along, all swinging hips and ignoring everyone looking her way. She walked up to the receptionist's station and asked if there was a room reserved for Rose Tyler in their "establishment."

"Yes," the young male said, "and might I say it is an honor to be taking care of you here, Ms. Tyler. If there are any problems with your room then please do not hesitate to let us know."

"Thank you," Rose said, giving him a tight-lipped smile.

He handed her key-cards to the room, and she quickly gave it a once over. "You are in one of our luxury guestrooms. Just take the elevator to your left, slide your card in the slot and it'll go up from there," the man explained.

"Thank you...ummm?"

"Oh, it's Anthony."

"Right. Thank you Anthony."

She gave him the sauciest grin she could handle while trying her hardest not to think about the warm bed waiting for her and sauntered off, swinging her hips again as she went. She waited for the lift's door to close before wiping the silly look off of her face and swiping her card to get to her guestroom.

The lift was faster than the usual and, before she knew it, the doors opened and her room awaited her. Taking a moment to think back to the days living on the council estates, Rose smiled as she walked, taking everything in. A large kitchen area, comfy beds, a boudoir with its own dressing space; it was all a bit much. When she arrived at the work desk, the little light on the phone was blinking.

Shrugging, she pushed the button and a man's voice filled the room, "This is a message for one 'Rose Tyler': Messrs. Tristan Stone and Andrew Bennet wish to see you at approximately 12 o'clock noon at the Peacock Alley Restaurant. Please phone us back downstairs if that is fine with you and we'll contact them ourselves. Thank you and enjoy your stay here."

Rose immediately dialed down and told them that noon would be perfect. She took one more look at the bedroom before deciding that work would need to come before a proper rest. Rose took a seat at the desk, opened the file (while simultaneously cursing Torchwood) and continued to study what the case entailed so she would be properly prepared for the meeting in a few hours.

**

* * *

**Rose felt dead on her feet but she didn't allow that to show on her face when she stepped into the restaurant. She changed a white, cotton pants suit, white flats and sunglasses. Partially to hide the dark circles under her eyes and partially because it generally went with the whole 'heiress' look she was still going for.

Since the hotel knew that 'Rose Tyler' was staying there, she was given a table right away, near the back and, after ordering a salad and glass of wine, told the manager that if anyone asked for her, then they were allowed to come.

Some, maybe five minutes later, a shadow appeared above her table and when Rose looked up, a man she had never seen before began speaking, saying, "Excuse me, Rose Tyler is that...?"

"Yes?" she said, removing the glasses that wouldn't have allowed her to see him properly.

"Oh brilliant," the man said, sitting across from her, "Tristan Stone, at your service."

"Nice to meet you Tristan," Rose said as the two shook hands.

Tristan certainly didn't look very intimidating but then again no one working for Torchwood hardly ever did, herself included. He wore a black suit with a silky, black shirt and black tie. Judging also by the height difference when they were sitting down, he didn't appear to be much taller than her.

"Where's your partner?" Rose asked, looking around.

"Bennet? He was up in the room finishing up. He should be right down in, oh; there he's just walked in. Andrew, back here!"

Rose looked in the same direction as Tristan and couldn't stop staring. He was walking towards the table wearing a similar suit to Tristan save a deep red shirt under his suit jacket and no tie. He looked ahead, daring to look her straight in the eye and she couldn't help but give him a smirk back which went unreturned. She didn't expect him to. She needed to earn his trust. Same face, same attitude, same everything she remembered though his hair did look a bit more…shaggy than she remembered. She liked it, it suited him. The new him. Andrew Bennet was the Doctor's human counterpart, his clone, forced to live in this world, just like her. And Pete probably knew it was him all along! It looked as though this case was about to get more interesting than she originally bargained for.


	6. Morningside

Disclaimer: I am not doing this for any monetary gain. I do not own Doctor Who nor the music of the wonderful Sara Bareilles.

Thank you all very much for reading. I really hope you are enjoying the story as it unfolds. Please enjoy this new chapter.

* * *

Chapter 6: Morningside

_Keep my distance I tried  
No use  
But no matter the miles  
I'm back to you_

He didn't immediately walk to the table because, of course, that would've been too easy. He stopped for a moment to speak quietly to the nearest waitress before finally making it to the empty seat and sitting. She expected him to not look at her but, instead of shying away from Rose's face he looked her square in the eye as he extended his hand. "Andrew Bennet," he said as if that was the first time they were meeting.

"Rose Tyler," she said taking his hand (was that a spark she felt?) and quickly letting go a second later, murmuring, "pleasure."

Andrew looked the other way as the waitress returned with an empty glass and bottled water which she put in front of him. Tristan quickly ordered a club soda before the waitress disappeared again and all three of them were alone and silent for a few minutes.

Rose was the first of them to crack. "Um, I'm just going to go and visit the ladies room for…," she said while simultaneously grabbing her purse, "for a tick."

She dropped the bag on the floor and quickly retrieved it, bumping into Andrew's chair as she went. She hoped no one saw how red her face had gotten. Once in the small, closet-like room, Rose looked herself in the mirror and fixed her hair. She could do this. This was just like any other Torchwood case. Tristan was just another bloke. Andrew wasn't... Wasn't what? A part of her wanted to be selfish and say 'He wasn't the Doctor', but she wasn't sure that was the answer anymore.

"Stay focused Rose, don't let this get to you," she told her reflection. Rose took an extra minute to fix her smudged makeup and left to return to the table. She was almost there when she caught the tail end of Tristan's and Andrew's hushed conversation.

"But I thought you said you knew her?" Tristan asked unsurely.

Andrew leaned back in his chair and looked up to the ceiling. "I was thinking of different Rose Tyler I suppose."

A different Rose Tyler? He did not just say that, did he? On her way back to her chair, Rose purposefully smacked her purse into Andrew's elbow when she passed and smiled politely at Tristan.

"Sorry about that; wine tends to go right through my y'know? So, before we get into the meat of this case, I think I'd like to know a bit more about you two."

She tried to make Andrew look at her but his head was still looking up, refusing to meet her eye. So, Tristan began to talk. While he babbled something about living in North Hampshire or something, Rose couldn't take it anymore and kicked Andrew's shin, hard under the table.

"Ouch," he yelped causing Tristan to jump in his seat and Rose to smirk.

"What's wrong?" Tristan asked.

"Sorry," Rose said, turning to look at Andrew who stared back at her in shock, "my foot slipped. You were saying, Tristan?"

Tristan just shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing, that's about it really."

"Oh, well all right then," she said turning her head from Tristan to the other. "And you Andrew?"

"Gladly, Miss Tyler." He brought his hands together and sat up straighter than he was already, acting as though this were an interview rather than a "friendly conversation." "Brought up in good ol' London town. Had a Mum and Dad..."

"What were their names?" Rose interrupted.

"John and Donna Bennet. Good folks. Abandoned me just after birth. Was brought up in the foster care system. Once old enough lived by myself on a council estate and eventually found work at Torchwood. That's it."

"That's it?" Rose asked.

"That's it," Andrew answered.

"A-levels?" she asked.

"In all courses. _You_?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from his final word.

Rose all but slapped him there and then. Tristan meanwhile watched both of them like a spectator at a tennis match.

"And what about you Miss Tyler, hmm?" Andrew asked in a low voice, leaning forward over his hands, and raising his right eyebrow. "Y'know, apart from being the Director's daughter."

Rose stood and Andrew followed suit. Tristan followed slowly after another minute.

"You don't think I'm properly qualified?" Rose asked.

Andrew started to laugh at her and the sound got her really angry in all the wrong ways. "All I'm saying is that I would like to see _your_ credentials before we start working on this case, or, actually, any case together as a team."

"Andrew," Tristan said reasonably, "Director Tyler says she's more than qualified and I believe him. Why don't you?"

"Because, from what _I've_ seen in the past, the only thing she is qualified to do is tear dangerous holes in reality," he said looking her up and down with disdain, "Or work in a shop."

Rose didn't allow her voice to say anything and instead let her hand speak for her as it made contact with his cheek. She stormed out of the restaurant leaving a confused Tristan and mellowed out Doctor behind. She stalked to the lift and pushed the up button but heard someone running towards her, calling out her name. "Rose! Rose, come back!"

The door opened and she walked inside but not before Andrew walked in behind her before the door closed.

"Get out," Rose said, wiping a tear and swiping her card.

"Kind of hard to do that while we're moving," he said, trying to lighten the mood.

Rose refused to turn back and look at him and waited for the machine to stop before pushing past him, towards her door. Andrew peeked out after her before sighing, pushing the button to return to the bottom floor and going back to explain things to the best of his ability to Tristan.

**

* * *

**Rose slammed her door shut and ran to her mobile to dial Pete's personal number. She took a seat on her bed, removed her shoes and threw them as hard as she could causing them to hit the ground softly since the carpeting muffled the noise. The phone rang twice before he finally answered.

"Pete Tyler speaking."

"You knew this all along didn't you?" Rose asked in disbelief to the man she trusted most in this world.

"If you mean working with the Doctor, otherwise known as Andrew, then yes I did. Why? What happened?"

Rose took several relaxing breaths and explained the situation rationally as it had unfolded, fighting her anger and tears that still threatened to come.

Pete was silent for several minutes before saying, "I've got another call" and placing Rose on hold. Groaning, Rose fell back on the surprisingly soft pillow on the bed and waited. Upon returning, Pete said, "That was a call from _him_ apologizing and asking for another chance. I suggest you take him up on this offer, Rose because we haven't got much time if we need you lot to infiltrate this society."

Sighing and clutching the bridge of her nose, Rose agreed and told Pete to tell Andrew that "we are just two agents working on a case and once it's finished then they won't have any need to contact each other ever again."

"Isn't that a bit much?" Pete asked.

"You didn't hear what he was saying," Rose said, "he was being...well, frankly very rude."

Pete was silent for a beat. "Wasn't he always a bit rude?"

"Yes, but…well, that's not the point..."

Pete took a minute before speaking to her in a clear and concise tone of voice. "Rose, did it ever occur to you what it felt like for _him_ to be abandoned by _you_?"

"...What?"

"Rose, I seriously suggest that you talk to him and soon. Maybe even before talking about the case with him and Tristan."

"All right," she said sounding the smallest bit resigned to it, "I'll ring him up."

"Ah, you don't need to go through the trouble." There was a faint knocking on the suite door. "Speak to you in the morning Peaches."

Rose ended the call and walked to the door, hesitated for a moment to calm down and opened it. There he stood, just over the threshold, no longer wearing the jacket but still wearing the red shirt and trousers. Instead of saying anything, Rose stepped aside and allowed him to come in on his own. He took a seat in a squishy, leather chair and Rose walked to the kitchen space and began to prepare a cup of tea for both of them. He sat and apparently unconsciously ran his hands through his still ridiculously gorgeous hair. When the water finished boiling, Rose poured them into two mugs she found and added a tea bag each. She carefully walked over to him and handed him a cup. He took one sip and sighed.

"I don't know how to apologize to you Rose. Not like this. Not like before," Andrew said, not quite meeting her eye this time. They both knew the truth though; he wasn't the one who needed to say anything at all.

"Doctor, I mean Andrew-"

"No, no, no," he said, holding up his hand, "please, you can say it."

"What?" she asked slowly.

"Doctor; you can still call me that. If you want."

"If I want?" she asked.

He nodded and waited for her to continue. Rose didn't quite know what to say which was, to her, a very strange concept when it came to speaking with the Doctor. Any Doctor.

"I felt like I could tell you my life story before y'know and now," she said laughingly as she continued to battle her tears, "now I can't even get out a proper apology. What sort of person does that make me?"

"Rose, I told you before: I look like him and I think like him-"

"Yeah. Yeah, you do. But you see _that's the point_! You _look_ like him and you _think_ like him but you're not him. You're not!"

Both of them didn't say anything but Andrew took a deep breath and leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. "I'm sorry but there is nothing I can do to change _your_ situation let alone my own," he said, shaking his head. "He's gone. He's gone and he isn't coming back. Not for you, not for me. That life – it's all over and we have to do this on our own and move on. That's what, that's what he wanted for us all along."

That was all Rose could take as the tears finally flowed again because of that alien, that man of the universe who showed her everything. Showed her time and space but told her absolutely nothing.

Strong arms wrapped around her middle and his hands rubbed small circles on her back just like he always had before. "Shh, Rose," he whispered. "It'll all come together in the end."

His voice broke and Rose realized he was crying as well. She wasn't as alone in this abandonment as she thought. She had forgotten for several weeks that while she had always called Earth her home and always a family to call her own, that other life, the TARDIS and the traveling was the only life _he'd_ ever known and it was gone. He was left behind, cut off, just like her. She reached out her hands and placed them on either side of his face and gave him a kiss on his forehead.

He moved away from her and sat down on the floor before her instead of returning to his own seat. "Tristan's going to be up soon. I told him where I was and how long he should wait. We have to start working on this case soon otherwise we'll never find what happened."

"What sort of agent is Tristan Stone?" she asked thickly.

"Oh, brilliant tech man. Of course, I could probably give him a run for his money but always was good at thinking on my feet, me."

Rose laughed and wiped the tears off her face with the palm of her hand as there was suddenly another knock on the door. Rose welcomed Tristan into her suite and together the three of them worked for hours on what they needed to do for this case, who would be in charge of what and what to do in case of an extreme emergency. Several hours later, Rose let them go and finally climbed into her warm bed, dreaming of two men with two separate sounding heartbeats, the sound of which sang in the air.

**

* * *

**In an unsuspecting neighborhood, several miles outside of New York City, a yellow taxi cab stopped at an iron gate wide enough to fit a fully grown elephant and dropped off two people who quietly thanked their driver as he continued on his way.

"You ready for this?" Rose asked.

"Born ready," Andrew said while adjusting his tie and ringing the intercom.

"Who is it?" a woman's voice asked from the metal box.

"Hello," Andrew said, "Read your ad in the _Times_. Sorry we're here a bit early. We're here about the two open vacancies in your home. Spoke to you yesterday on the phone. The caretaker and assistant chef positions?"

A buzz filled the air and, much too slowly, the gate began to open allowing the two of them entrance.

"Tristan," Rose said, pushing the small button on her earpiece, "we're going in."

"Good luck you two," he said back as they passed over the threshold and both pieces were automatically switched off.

The entire area seemed a bit too quiet for both their tastes. There weren't even birds in the trees singing. Andrew looked up at the giant mansion and nodded as he and Rose unconsciously took the other's hand when they reached the front door. It opened and a woman stood waiting.

The first thing Rose noticed right away was her long, red fingernails. The woman had a stern look on her oval shaped face as she looked down at them as if they were something floating around in her toilet. She wore a prim, black skirt suit combo and black pumps on her feet. Her blonde hair was done up in a perfect bun and when she smiled (more of a smirk really) she showed off perfect white teeth.

"Welcome to our home," she said in a booming voice, "You must be Rose Quinnlan and Andrew Turner. Won't you please come inside?"

"Bit weird," Rose whispered out of the side of her mouth.

"Well if it wasn't weird, we wouldn't be here," Andrew whispered back.

The two crossed through the doorway and into the mansion as the door closed behind them.


	7. Between the Lines

Disclaimer: I do not own any part within the Doctor Who franchise nor do I own the music of Sara Bareilles. This is purely done for my own amusement.

A/N: Sorry this took so long to be available. I got a new job for the holidays which takes up a lot of my free time and I also had to deal with serious writer's block. I hope you all enjoy this chapter right now though and please send me a note letting me know if you're enjoying it so far. Thanks for reading. :)

_

* * *

_

__

Chapter 7: Between the Lines

_Leave unsaid unspoken  
Eyes wide shut unopened  
You and me  
Always between the lines  
Between the lines_

It was quiet in the giant, spacious mansion. Almost too quiet for Andrew and the grandeur of the house itself greatly unnerved Rose. They were ten minutes into the tour and every employee that they passed only gave them a cold, blank look before returning to their duties.

"Are employees allowed to speak while they work?" Andrew asked, sounding concerned as they passed another chef who held up a knife and brought the object down on a chop of meat unnecessarily hard, causing the knife to smack the wooden cutting board with a loud 'whack'.

The lady, who introduced herself as Mrs. Peterman, chuckled and said patronizingly, "but of course. We like to keep a busy, if quiet, household. Better for the ears."

The entire tour of the house took almost two and a half hours and that was mainly because, in Andrew's case, the stop in the kitchen included a demonstration of his cooking skills by cooking a full meal since he was technically applying to be a household chef. During that time, Mrs. Peterman asked Rose a battery of questions about home maintenance and whatever else was necessary for a good housekeeper to know and remember at all times. Andrew ended up serving them brunch with all sorts of tasty sandwiches, omelets, and other food things that looked surprisingly delicious.

"So, is there anything else you would like to ask us…Ma'am?" Rose asked as Andrew's mouth was currently full of ham and cheese omelet.

"No, I believe that's all for the moment," Mrs. Peterman said wiping her mouth. She stood and, while smiling widely with all of her huge teeth showing, continued saying, "I'll just be in the family office talking this over with my, um, my husband. If you'll excuse me."

The minute she was out of the room, Rose turned to Andrew and asked him the burning question on her lips, "when did you learn to cook?"

"Little parting gift from Donna. Granted, I'm not quite at her level yet_ but_ I think that what we should do right now is not focus on me but rather on the case at hand. All right?"

"Yeah, fine. Not so loud though or they'll hear us," Rose said, casting a suspicious look around the room, checking for any video cameras or microphones out in the open.

"Did you get a good look at the rest of the staff?" Andrew asked, now eating a banana that happened to be sitting in a nearby bowl. "First day on the job we should ask about these people so we can better work on their profiles."

"Obviously. What kind of cheese did you use in this?" Rose asked, pointing to the toasted cheese sandwich on her plate.

"Swiss."

"S'good. So what did you think about her staff though in general?"

"Seemed a bit, I dunno, gray in the face. Tired or somethin' like."

"Everyone here has their own quarters and we'll obviously have our own too. Maybe we should pay attention for noises or suspicious activities to report back when we get back in touch with Tristan."

Rose noticed a bit of banana was stuck to the corner of Andrew's mouth so she grabbed his napkin and wiped it off gently. He poured himself another cup of coffee as Mrs. Peterman sauntered back into the room. Rose stood up in reverence and pulled Andrew to his feet as well, almost knocking his coffee cup out of his hand in the process.

"So, Ma'am, what's the verdict?" Andrew asked making absolutely sure he didn't spill anything on himself or the table.

Mrs. Peterman smiled again. "Congratulations Ms. Quinnlan, Mr. Turner, you've got the jobs."

Rose squealed in excitement and gave Andrew a hug around the neck before composing herself. Mrs. Peterman looked a bit upset about the display but didn't say anything about it.

"Brilliant! Starting when?" he asked.

"Starting immediately of course. Follow me to your rooms."

"Our rooms? Already?" Rose asked, looking to Andrew and quickly back at Peterman, "What about our things and we really should contact our families-"

"Nonsense, you can just do all of that during your free hour tomorrow morning. Come along."

"But-"

"Now, now Rose," Andrew said taking her hand and patting the back of it, "new jobs and all. You do want to do this, right?"

Mrs. Peterman walked to the door and waited for Rose and Andrew to follow. Rose gave Andrew a look that said "she knows" but he shook it off. It wasn't possible that the woman, alien or human, already knew anything yet after only a few hours time. Mrs. Peterman just really wanted them here, in this house, and they were going to have to quickly get to the bottom of everything.

**

* * *

**Rose was told to wait in her room for one of the other maids to give her a job to do and she had already been sitting on the bed for over twenty minutes. The outfit she had been given fit like a dream but distinctly reminded her of the one she wore to this world's original Jackie Tyler's birthday party. Someone suddenly knocked on her door and Rose got to her feet and answered only to be pushed aside as someone barreled past her.

"What sort of outfit is this for a chef?" Andrew asked sounding unusually exasperated.

Rose looked down the hall but no one was coming. "What do you mean?" she asked, shutting the door and turning about face.

"It's all…black? Black! For a chef's outfit? It's like they already think the foods gonna get all burned and I'll be fired before we find out-"

Rose looked him over and nodded satisfactorily."Actually, I think it makes you look rather dashing."

Andrew shut his mouth and Rose's face turned beet red. "So what're you supposed to be doing now?" he asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Waiting for one of the maids to "collect" me," Rose said while making quote marks in the air, giving cause for Andrew to chuckle.

"I should probably go. If you can get back in touch with Tristan then let him know we're in for the night a'right?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

Andrew turned to leave but instead looked back and put his hands on Rose's shoulders, holding her in place, leaning down and kissing her. Rose felt like she was floating on air, feeling his lips against hers after so long…

Just a second later, a voice called out through the closed door, "Ms. Quinnlan; are you ready?"

Rose reluctantly pulled away and shouted, "Yeah, jus' a sec." She turned to the door making sure whomever it was wasn't peeking in before returning her attention back to Andrew, pulling him down to her height and kissing him back again. Rose was still a bit dazed when she finally pulled away and Andrew looked as though he enjoyed it just as much. She opened the door to find a nervous maid who looked awkwardly around the room and spotted Andrew who waved back, equally awkward, and then wiped his mouth.

"Well I should leave you two girls to your...work? Yes, work. See you later, Rose. Remember what I did, I mean said."

"Yeah, later."

Andrew reached outward, meaning to take her hand but instead he dropped it and left making Rose feel alone again.

"...Ms. Quinnlan?" the girl asked.

Rose turned to the poor girl and sighed before saying, "Please, call me Rose. Shall we?"

The girl led Rose downstairs to the laundry where others were waiting. There they remained, folding and washing clothes, for over four hours. In that time, Rose discovered that a) the girls really didn't like to talk while working (shockingly) and b) they seemed to be frightened. That part bothered her the most.

Deciding to break the ice, so to speak, Rose asked, "So, where're you all from? I'm from England in case you couldn't tell." She even threw in a fake laugh and a smile trying to make the others feel more at ease.

"We come from Guatemala; my husband and I," one of the women said a minute later with a heavy Spanish accent. "He works in the garden."

"I lived just across town, with my parents," another girl who looked to be a few years younger than Rose said. A few others relayed other bits of information but most said nothing at all.

"Oh well, that's nice," Rose said, "And are you all enjoying yourselves here?"

They all spoke at once, saying just how wonderful the Peterman household was and how lucky they were to have jobs in the current economy.

After almost no time at all, it was time for their evening meal which was well after the family had eaten their own of course. Rose and the other girls arrived in the kitchen and finally Rose could see the extent to the Peterman family's staff. Thirty diverse people were either seated around the dining room table or standing as they ate their meals which consisted of ham sandwiches and crisps. Rose spotted Andrew immediately, standing by the window having a drawn out conversation with some tan-skinned, black bearded man wearing a green jumpsuit who was wiping his brow with a dirty handkerchief. Andrew noticed her looking and nodded his head, giving Rose a sign that it was okay to walk over.

"This is my mate I was telling you about. Rose, this is Ramon. He works in the gardens."

"Pleased to meet you," Rose said shaking the man's hand.

"Nice to meet you. You work with my wife yes? Josephina?"

Rose smiled kindly at him and nodded. "Oh, yes. She's a very lovely woman."

Ramon wiped his brow again and, looking him over very closely, Rose could see that he looked incredibly exhausted.

"You okay?" Rose asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Si, si," Ramon said wearily. Not even a second later, Ramon barely moved even his head when he wordlessly fell backwards to the floor. Everyone gathered around him wondering what was happening. Andrew did his best to rouse the man when a new voice entered the fray.

"Would everyone just settle down! What is the problem here?" a man announced loudly over the ensuing chaos.

Everyone turned to see an older gentleman, head topped with salt and pepper hair and standing well over six feet tall in stature, walk to the prone man and bent over him, checking for his pulse. He adjusted his suit jacket and looked at the crowd of faces before saying, "Meal time is over. Would everyone please vacate the room? Now!"

"Please, he is my husband," Josephina the maid whom Rose worked with earlier said, tearfully.

The strange man gave her a once over and nodded very solemnly. "Very well. Everyone else, back to work."

Rose gave Andrew a raised eyebrow and he could do nothing but shrug. The two of them remained at the back of the group and, once out of the room, they looked back through the kitchen door's window.

"Something isn't adding up here," Rose said. "We should stay vigilant, yeah?"

"I've only been human a few months," Andrew said, "and I know it isn't right when people randomly faint on the job – except in deserts and places of noxious fumes I suppose..."

"You planning on going somewhere with that statement?" Rose asked, trying not to grin but doing so anyway.

"What I'm saying is – ask as many questions as you can. See if this happened before now. Were you ever able to get back in contact with Tristan?"

"No; it's like this house is cut off or somethin'."

"Hmm, we're probably going to have to sneak over to him tomorrow during our "off time" in the morning. Rose?"

"Yeah?" she asked, turning to him.

Andrew touched his hand to her cheek and leaned down, giving light, feather of a kiss. "Stay safe."

The two agents looked back and watched as Mr. Peterman lifted Ramon over his shoulder and walked out of the room with a tearful Josephina following behind them. Andrew walked back into the kitchen and Rose wished, for just that second, that she could stay there with him, safe and in his loving care. Just like old times. Shaking off the feeling that the walls surrounding her were closing her in, Rose straightened her shoulders and began to walk away. She stopped a moment however and looked back to the white kitchen door. She walked back and placed her hand gently against it before turning again and finally leaving. Little did she know that, on the other side, Andrew did the exact same thing before letting out a deep breath he didn't even know he was holding and preparing to clean up the kitchen for the remainder of the evening.

**

* * *

**The rest of Rose's shift mainly comprised of dusting a few guest rooms in the western wing and before she knew it, it was eleven o'clock and Rose was free for the remainder of the evening. Of course, what else was there to do in household where the servants weren't even allowed in any of the rooms unless told to be there by the owners themselves? No, the only thing to do was to just get ready for bed and hope that the morning arrived fast. Rose was just getting into a nightgown (provided by the household) when there was a knock at her door. Wishing it was Andrew, Rose was disappointed when it was a girl she had seen earlier in the day from the kitchen. One of the other chefs who was in the room when Ramon fainted.

"Rose Quinnlan, right? Turner's friend?" the girl asked in a snotty tone that Rose didn't like at all.

"Right…?"

"Your _friend_ is making some pretty strange moaning noises that're keeping the farther end of the wing up. Mind checking up on him?"

"What; you mean Andrew?"

"What other guys do _you_ know?" she asked giving Rose a once over.

Rose was out of her door the instant whatever-her-name-was stopped talking. It was a very long walk down a seemingly endless and dark hall. She listened to every door she passed until she came upon a crowd of people standing by a closed door who looked at her as she walked closer. Rose glowered at them before leaning her ear in and listening. She could definitely hear someone talking inside but the wood was making it difficult to understand what they were saying. Rose turned the knob and slowly opened the door and walked inside, closing it behind her and letting the darkness wrap itself around her like a blanket.

Thrashing almost didn't even begin to cover what Andrew was doing in his sleep. All of his covers and a blanket lay in a small but messy pile beside his bed as his body swiveled back and forth and the sleep talking continued. "She isn't safe! It's not stable. Oh, Donna – no," he whispered the name pitifully before beginning to sob. "Can't be saved. Can't and it's all my fault. Bloody timelines. All because I _had_ to be bloody created."

What was wrong with Donna? Wasn't she all right in the other world – with the Doctor, like she wanted? "Andrew? Andrew wake up," Rose whispered, hoping it was loud enough for him to hear.

Andrew's sobs continued and slowly tore Rose's heart into two.

"Andrew!" she tried louder.

"She can't stay. He's alone. It's all my fault."

Rose couldn't take it anymore and she fell to her knees beside him, grabbed his shoulders and shook him, hoping it would finally be enough to rouse him. "Andrew!"

He seemed to jump and Andrew took several gasping breaths as he finally awoke from whatever nightmare he was trapped in, looking and no doubt feeling disoriented in being in a strange place. He looked into Rose's tearstained face. "What're you doing here, Rose? What's wrong?" he whispered.

"Someone sent for me. You, you were having a nightmare or somethin'. I was worried you wouldn't wake up when I started calling for you."

His mind only latched onto one word she said. "Nightmare?"

Rose sat back on her heels and cocked her head to the side. "What, you don't remember?" Andrew shook his head in obvious confusion leaving Rose confused as well. "How could you not remember - you were moaning and talking loud enough I'd have thought you'd wake yourself up."

"I was?" he asked shocked, "Did anyone hear me?"

"Hear?" Rose now got to her feet and crossed her arms against her chest. "Of course they heard you otherwise why would I be here?"

Andrew fiddled around with the mattress, running his fingers along the seams looking a bit bashful. "I thought you, um, wanted to say good night. Haven't seen you since Ramon was taken away and..."

Rose was curious. "And what?"

Andrew opened his mouth but after a few seconds closed it again.

"Right then, I'd better go," she said using her thumb to point at the door.

Andrew still said nothing and instead rearranged his sheets, flipped his pillow and turned over. He was just closing his eyes when he heard Rose call to him one more time.

"You mentioned Donna in your sleep."

Andrew turned back and Rose was looking at him again.

"Is she okay?" Rose asked carefully.

Staying silent for several seconds, Andrew finally said, "Yeah. She's safe."


	8. Love on the Rocks

Disclaimer: I am not doing this for any monetary gain. I do not own Doctor Who nor the wonderful music of the wonderful Sara Bareilles.

So, so sorry about making you all wait so long for this chapter. The writer's block was terrible and the chapter just would not come to me. Here's Chapter 8 though finally and I hope it is to your liking.

* * *

Chapter 8: Love on the Rocks

_Babe, baby believe me  
If I stay it ain't gonna be easy_

_She was, again, walking in a meadow of wildflowers and in the distance there stood a lone man. Whomever it was stood straight and tall, arms behind their back, looking up at the sky. Rose took a step forward and so did the man. She took another step. So did he, wearing a familiar blue suit with a red shirt beneath it. Rose ran forward. They met in the center and Andrew took Rose into his arms as Rose wrapped her own around his neck and hugged him tight to her, afraid he'd disappear. _

_"Are you really here?" she asked, her head buried in his shoulder fighting against breaking down completely. From the hitch in her voice, Rose knew she was failing. _

_"If I said I was just an image - would that make you angry?" Andrew asked, letting her go. _

_Rose stood back and wiped her eyes. Andrew looked back at her sadly and wiped his own tears away too. _

_"Never saw you so emotional?" Rose tried to laugh out. _

_"Yeah, well," Andrew said, looking away to the horizon and back again, this time smiling, "times change. I've changed. More human means more emotions. Stronger emotions. Blimey." _

_Rose sniffled as she walked forwards again and placed her hand on Andrew's shoulder. "I'm sorry. Really and truly sorry for leaving. It was so stupid. I hurt you -" _

_"No, Rose." _

_"I hurt you," she continued, "I hurt you and that was something I never, ever meant to do. I - I -" _

_"You ran. Like he would've." _

_"I - I suppose..." Rose almost broke down again if not for the strong arms that wrapped themselves around her waist and held onto her tight as though fearful she'd disappear in a puff of smoke. _

_Rose looked up and began to say, "Andrew, I -" when the ground began to move and shake below their feet. A chasm formed in the ground separating them. The ground rumbled in fury. _

_"What's happening?" Rose shouted over the noise. _

_"I don't know!" Andrew shouted back. "Hold on!" _

_From the tear, a strong black smoke shot up from the ground and Rose felt herself falling, falling forward and down, down into a bottomless hole... _

**

* * *

**Andrew jumped, jostled awake from the wonderful dream he had been having. Sighing, he tried to read the bedside alarm clock but unfortunately it was still too dark for him to see without having to turn on a light. Andrew laid back on his pillow and tried to remember what he was dreaming of.

There were wildflowers...purple ones? No, yellow. And he was in a meadow...talking? Who was he talking to…?

Dreams; no one would ever be able to fully comprehend the magnitude of images held within the mind while the body was shut down. Andrew's eyes drifted shut and he thought about his dream no more. This would just be another new human experience for him. Didn't make a lick of sense though.

**

* * *

**The sun had barely risen when Rose's alarm clock rang shrilly, waking her. She blearily reached out a hand to shut it, angrily breathing out afterwards. Slowly, Rose removed the warm sheets and comforter and sat up with her feet dangling a few inches from the floor. Rose ran her hand over her face, trying to force herself to get up. When her feet touched the cold floor, Rose flinched before standing. Shaking her head to wake herself more, Rose decided to get dressed before going downstairs and searching for breakfast with the other employees. As she began pulling the uniform on, Rose slowly felt her energy returning to her and once she was finished, Rose was ready for the new day. She made a mental note to get in touch with either Tristan or Torchwood Proper as soon as possible to give them the full scoop of the case thus far.

Rose walked down the hall trying to remember the way back to the stairs when she heard voices coming from a short distance away. Using her training in stealth she managed to stick to the shadows as she continued to walk forward.

"Think the weather's going to improve before Sunday; I really need to visit my cousin in the hospital?"

"Doubt it. Besides, _they'd_ never allow it."

"I know; I was just hoping though..."

Rose walked forward and the girls stopped talking when they noticed her. The three of them stared at each other for a few seconds before Rose walked past. She arrived in the kitchen and found Andrew sitting at the table with his head down, looking like he had fallen asleep. Rose grabbed a mug full of coffee from off the counter and took the empty seat across from him.

"Wakey, wakey," she said while giving him a hard shake on the shoulder.

"No," he muttered into his shirtsleeve making his voice sound as though he was breathing into his shirt rather than speaking.

"Didn't fall back to sleep after I left?" Rose asking before drinking.

"Slept fine," Andrew said as he sat up and looked at Rose through heavily lidded eyes, "dreamt about some meadow."

That seemed familiar to Rose but she had no idea why. Andrew heard footsteps. Someone with high-heeled shoes was coming towards the kitchen and he turned to see Mrs. Peterman walking with two small boxes, one in each hand.

"Breakfast is finished. Everyone please return to your duties - except for you, Mr. Turner and Ms. Quinnlan."

The sea of staffers began to dissipate and Rose and Andrew both got to their feet.

"For finishing your first day, well, we like to give these to our employees. Congratulations," she said handing them both a box.

They opened them to find two black watches, both a little different to fit their genders. Rose rather thought they would cost the family no more than a few cents in a local grocery store.

"Um, thank you ma'am," Rose said, giving the lady a curtsey. Andrew said nothing at all and stared at the object suspiciously.

The lady watched as they put the watches on their wrists before leaving to return from wherever it was she came from.

"What's your lot got planned for the day?" Rose asked while fixing her skirt.

"Lunch? Dinner? Not really sure, it's up to the others," Andrew said with a shrug.

"See you later then."

As he watched her go, the watch on Andrew's wrist beeped once and he looked down to see its face glow slightly for a few seconds and then fade. Definitely intrigued but having no free time to examine it now, Andrew simply ignored it and went into the main family kitchen to help prepare the food for the day.

**

* * *

**The day passed with much work and no time to stop and rest. At their last meal of the day, Rose asked Andrew whether or not Mrs. Peterman had said they would be allowed to visit their homes that day or the next.

"I thought she'd said today but, well, I suppose I could be wrong..." Andrew's trailing off at the end and then his staring off into space worried Rose and she shoved him on the shoulder to wake him up.

"What's wrong?" Rose couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know...sort of weird like I can't keep track of my thoughts."

The end of dinner bell rang Rose got to her feet seconds before Andrew.

"I'll stop by to talk later," she said. She lowered him slightly so he wasn't towering over her and kissed him on the cheek before walking off.

Feeling unusually shaky on her legs, Rose went back for the last two hours of working. At the end of her shift, Rose sighed while walking back to her room to wash up and change clothes before going to visit Andrew. Rose only had the clothes with her that she arrived in and, since she didn't want to go wearing a nightgown or her uniform, she dressed and left. His door was closed and before knocking she placed her ear against the wood to listen. Nothing.

"Andrew?"

She turned the knob and walked in to find Andrew lying on his bed, his head back on the pillow, tilted up to face the ceiling with his arms behind his head and his eyes closed.

"Andrew?" Rose tried again, this time giving him a shake on the shoulder. Snorting loudly through his nose, Andrew practically jumped as he sat up, almost knocking Rose to the floor in the process.

"Hey, watch it," she said.

"You startled me Blondie."

"Blondie?"

Realizing what he said and not liking it, Andrew sat up straighter and shook his head wildly to hopefully get some sense back into it. "Bit of Donna. Sorry. Still sneaks up on me sometimes."

Rose laughed and got a bit more comfortable by sliding off her shoes and sitting cross legged on the bed by his side. She looked down and suddenly remembered the small, black watch she'd received just this morning.

"What about these?" Rose asked.

Lazily, Andrew turned and looked. "What about what?"

"These watches. Everyone has one, I noticed earlier. Think they're something special?"

Suddenly remembering the strange light he saw earlier, Andrew slid up his sleeve and placed the time piece to his ear and listened. Being a digital watch there shouldn't be any noise but..."I hear something."

He sat up and Rose moved closer putting her own watch to her ear as well. Andrew then reached into his pocket and removed a small, familiar cylindrical device.

"Is that...?" Rose asked, smirking.

"A low grade, far distantly removed cousin of the original - but yes, it's a sonic. Still in some stages developmentally but can easily pick up on signals like the one this watch is giving off."

"So it _is_ giving up a signal then?"

"Yup, very low frequency – oh they are clever ones." Andrew fiddled with his sonic for a few more seconds before starting to laugh.

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"Just like old times. Ha!"

Andrew jumped from his bed and ran out the door giving Rose no other option but to follow. Just like old times indeed.


End file.
